The Dragon Rider
by fandomk
Summary: Hicca's life is supposed to get better from all the teasing after she takes down a legendary dragon. but, she learns that she can't kill it. despite her protests, she is thrown into Dragon Training with the other teens, including her crush Austin. However, with the Nightfury, she learns there are more to them. Can she convince them that they don't have to kill dragons?
1. Chapter 1

**This is Berk.**

** It's 12 days of hopelessness and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. This is my village. In a word, sturdy. It's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problem is the pests.**

**You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have…**

"Dragons," I sighed, slamming the front door of my house as a dragon blasted fire at me. I barely managed to keep it closed as the force pushed me forward.

**Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings, we have stubbornness issues. **As soon as I felt the pressure release, I threw open the door and rushed outside, where the village had been turned into a battlefield. I dodged a flying object as I ran, smiling like an idiot because I was finally outside, without anyone chasing me, during a dragon raid.

**My name's Hicca. Great name, I know. But it could be worse. Parents believe a hideous name will scare off gnomes and trolls. Like our "charming" Viking nature wouldn't do that. **I tripped, as an explosion shook the ground, knocking me to the ground. A Viking ran at me, roaring as he swung his axe near my head. "Mornin'," he greeted, before leaping away from me.

I got up, brushing off my vest as I sprinted through the village. Calls of "What are you doin' out?" "Get back inside!" and "Who let you out?" followed me as I nodded and basically ignored them.

I almost ran across a path as a dragon blew fire onto it, except for a hand grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me back.

"Hicca!" the man yelled at me. "What is she doing out again—what are you doing out! Get inside!" he yelled before he threw me towards the blacksmith's.

**That's Stoick the Vast, chief of our tribe. They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. **He picked up a cart and threw it at a flying dragon, knocking the dragon out of the sky.

**Do I believe it? Yes, I do.**

"What've we got?" he asked the nearest soldier.

"Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, oh and Haork saw a Monstrous Nightmare," the soldier quickly responded.

"Any Nightfuries?"

"None so far."

"Good."

"Hoist the torches!" came a voice, yelling through the chaos as I ran through the streets, heading towards the blacksmith. Giant torches were lifted up as one guy throw a torch onto one of the unlit ones, making the torch light up with burning hot fire.

I ran into the blacksmith's, putting on my apron.

"Nice of you to join the party," the blacksmith said, hammering a piece of bent metal. "I thought you'd been carried off."

"What, who me? Nah, I'm way too muscular for their taste," I flexed, and then picked up a huge hammer to place it back onto the wall. "They wouldn't know what to do with all. this."

"Well, they need toothpicks, don't they?" he laughs as he changed his fake hammer hand to a hook.

**The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice since I was little. Well, littler. **

Meanwhile, Stoick was giving orders in the village. "We move to the lower defenses. We'll counterattack with the catapults," he commands, running after the men that were carrying out his orders. A dragon flew on past, lighting a building on fire. **See? Old village, lots and lots of new houses.**

Closer to where I was, the other teens in the village were carrying buckets of water so they could put out their various fires in the village.

**That's Fishlegs. He's kind of a cross between a Viking and a toddler, but he really nice and the only teen that wouldn't mind being caught seen talking to me. Snotlout is unfortunately my cousin. He's a huge jerk and loves to make my life miserable. The Thorsten twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Tuffnut was more annoying than his sister, more up in your face, but his twin was way more mischievous. Trust me, you don't want to mess with them, unless you want to make your life a living hell. And then there's… Austin. He is the pride of the village, the best fighter, strategist, speaker, and the best looking. **

**Oh, their job is so much cooler than mine. **I got ready t o vault myself over the counter, before Gobber hooked my shirt and brought me back to both the shop and my senses.

"Oh come on, let me out, please!" I looked at him, pleading with my eyes. "I need to make my mark!"

"Oh, you've made your mark alright. In all the wrong places!" he said, setting me down and then poking my in the chest with his hook.

"Please, two minutes, I'll kill a dragon and my life will get infinitely better, I might even get a date," I said, gesturing outside.

"You can't lift an hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these!" he pointed out, lifting up a bola. A nearby Viking picked it up and tossed it at a dragon, effectively tying it up.

"Okay, but this will throw it for me!" I ran over to my nearest invention, patting it. I accidently set it off, throw a bola that hit a Viking in the head.

"See, that right there is what I mean!"

"Minor calibration issue—"

"You know what—Hicca. If you ever want to go out there and fight dragons, you need to stop all of…" he thought for a moment, then gestured towards me. "That."

"But you just gestured to all of me," I raised an eyebrow, knowing what he meant.

"Exactly! Stop being all of you."

"Oooohhh," I nodded, squinting at him.

"Oooohh," he copied my sound.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game! Keeping this much raw Vikingness contained—there will be consequences!"

"I'll take my chances," he said flatly, done with our conversation. He dropped a sword in my arms. "Sharpen that sword, now."

I sat at the grindstone, wistfully looking outside.

**Someday, I'll get out there. Because around here, killing a dragon is everything.**

**A deadly Nadder head will be sure to get me at least noticed. Gronkles are tough—getting one of those down will definitely get me a boyfriend. The Hideous Zippleback—exotic. Two heads, twice the status.**

"They've found the sheep!" a Viking told Stoick.

"Concentrate fire over the lower bank," he ordered, then hoisted himself up onto the top most part of the tower.

"Fire!" someone said, followed by a swish of a catapult as it threw its boulder. A screech of a dragon told them that they had found their target.

**And then, there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go for those. They have this nasty habit of lighting themselves on fire.**

Stoick noticed a dragon clawing it's way up the tower. He looked down, and found a Nightmare, bathed in fire and razor-sharp teeth bared. "I'll handle this," he said to the men manning the catapults. He hoisted his might hammer and smacked the dragon with it.

**But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. It's called the…**

"Nightfury!" someone called, which echoed throughout the village. "Get down!"

A whistling noise that came before the blue fire of the Nightfury broke through the noise of a battle. Blue fire came out of nowhere, blasting the tower which Stoick was on. Calls of "Jump!" warned him that the structures above him were crashing down around him. He leapt off the burning tower.

**This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and ****_never _****misses.**

Another whistle came, right before the tower was hit again by fire.

**No one has ever killed a Nightfury. That's why I'm going to be the first.**

Gobber changed his hand another time, this time into an axe. "Man the fort, Hicca. They need me out there," he grinned, then dropped the smile. "Stay. Put. There."

I rolled my eyes as he ran off, yelling a battle cry. I grabbed the bola launcher, and rolled it out of the shop. People yelled at me to get back inside, but I ignored them and rolled it to a ledge, where I could get a clear view of the Nightfury.

"C'mon, give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at…," I muttered, seeing a dark shape flit against the starry sky.

Once again, the telltale whistling sounded. The finale shot completely destroyed the tower, knocking it down to the ground. I quickly fired, which knocked me back, hearing the bola fly into the darkness.

A screech told me I hit the beast, sending down off to Raven's point.

"Yes… Yes! Did anyone see that?" I looked around, wanting to have someone—anyone see me knock down the Nightfury. "Except for you," I sighed, my grin fading as the Monstrous Nightmare looking at me growled.

I turned, screamed, and ran away from the dragon.

Down in the village, Stoick had heard my scream. He had just captured Nadders that had started attacking the sheep, and was about to kill them, when he heard me. "Do not let them get away," he ordered as he rushed off to my rescue.

I ran through the village, finding an empty plaza and hid behind one of the tall torches. I tried to squeeze myself tighter in as the dragon blew a mixture of fire and lava at the pole. I peeked around the side, trying to see where it was. Little did I know it was looking at me from the other way, opening its mouth and getting ready to—

Luckily, Stoick was there, knocking it away from me. The Nightmare tried to spit fire at him, but all he could do was a little bit of lava.

"You're all out," Stoick said in glee, smirking as he smashed the creature's head. The dragon turned and flew off, whimpering. Stoick cursed, upset that it got away.

I was still behind the pole as he looked at the damage. It finally gave in, falling to the ground. I flinched at every noise it made, knowing that I had caused it. The torch hit the net of Nadders, freeing them.

**Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know.**

"Sorry… Dad," I apologized to Stoick. He picked me up by my collar (why does everyone do that? Surely I must weigh SOMETHING to them) and started to carry me back home. "Okay, but I hit a Nightfury."

He sighed in exasperation, having dealt with the same words before.

"I really, actually hit it this time! You guys were busy and I had a clear shot. It went off somewhere near Raven's Point, let's get a search party out there and-"

"Stop!" my dad yelled in the suddenly quiet village. Dawn had risen, and the dragons had left, leaving us to recover from the attack. "Stop. Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems, Hicca? Winter is coming and I've got an entire village to feed!"

"If you ask me, the village could use a little less feeding," I said jokingly serious (there's a difference between jokingly serious and seriously serious). Vikings grabbed their stomachs and looked at themselves. Yes, even Vikings are insecure.

"This isn't a joke Hicca!" he growled. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"Because, Dad, when I see a dragon, I just have to kill it," I tried to make myself bigger and more intimidating. "It's, just who I am, Dad!"

"Oh dear… You are many things Hicca, but a dragon-killer is not one of them," he wiped his forehead, and then pointed at Gobber. "Make sure she gets home. I have her mess to clean up."

Gobber whacked me on the back of the head, glaring at me for disobeying his orders. We slowly walked past the villagers back to my house.

As we walked by the teens, Tuffnut cackled. "Quite the performance," Ruffnut smirked, giving me two thumbs-up.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly," Snoutlout teased. "And that helped!"

"Thank you, thank you, I was trying," I rolled my eyes, used to their teasing. Austin was just sharpening his axe as I walked past. Not that I paid attention or anything. Pssh, no, like he would ever look at a girl like me.

Gobber shoved Snoutlout down, more protective of me against the other Vikings than my father was.

When we arrived back at the house, I finally was able to say what I had been dying to say on the way home.

"I really did hit it," I started. "He never listens to me. And when he does, it's with this disappointed scowl, like someone skimped out on the meat on his sandwich."

I started doing an impression of him (which I thought was very good). "Excuse me, barmaid, but I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, and extra guts and glory on the side! This, this here is a delicate flower of a girl!"

"Now, you're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like, but it's what's inside that he can't stand," Gobber tried to comfort me, but utterly failed.

"Thank you, for summing that up."

"Look, what I mean is, stop trying to be someone you're not."

"I just want t be one of you guys," I whispered loud enough so he could hear me, turning away and pushing the front door open. Charcoal from the burning of the earlier events covered my hands in black dust as I entered the house.

**Hey guys! So, I know I'm doing a lot of stories right now, but I'm mostly going to be updating this one and The Big Four one. However, doing a gender bent-movie-fanfic is a lot harder than I thought it would be, so I'm going to switch off between the Jacklynn Frost one and this one. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So, I know I'm doing a lot of stories right now, but I'm mostly going to be updating this one and The Big Four one. However, doing a gender bent-movie-fanfic is a lot harder than I thought it would be, so I'm going to switch off between the Jacklynn Frost one and this one. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!**

As soon as I heard Gobber leave, I snuck out the back door of my house. I had stopped to grab my journal and charcoal to locate the dragon with.

As soon as I killed this dragon, I would finally be a Viking, like the other people of my village. I could finally be welcomed and people wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in public with me. Austin might even ask me out…

_No!_ I thought. _He and the others bullied you for years! You couldn't possibly like him. He hates you, and you hate him. It's as simple as that._

I shook my head and hiked through the forest, ready to find and kill this legendary dragon.

MEANWHILE (3rd person POV)

Almost all the Vikings on the island of Berk were gathered in the Great Hall, excluding, of course, the teens and children.

"Either we kill them, or they kill us!" Stoick reasoned to the doubtful Vikings. He was talking about a long problem they had—finding the dragon's nest and destroying it. That was sure to make the dragons run, or rather fly, and leave Berk alone. "One more search, before the ice sets in."

"Those ships never come back!" someone in the crowd argued.

"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard. Now, who's with me?" he asked.

Excuses were muttered, doubtful faces looked back at the chief. He sighed and said, "Whoever stays will look after Hicca."

The latest statement had a huge effect on the crowd. Soon, everyone was excited to go to the ships, more afraid of watching Hicca than of never returning. The hall cleared out, leaving a few stragglers, Gobber, and Stoick.

"I'll go pack my undies," Gobber said, wiping his mouth.

"No, Gobber, I need you to stay and train some new recruits," Stoick ordered.

"Oh, yeah, and while I'm gone, Hicca can work in the shop! Molten steel, fire, plenty of sharp tools, and time to herself—what could ever go wrong?" he replied calmly.

"Gobber, what am I going to do with her?"

"Put her in training with the others."

"No, I'm serious."

"So am I!"

"She'll be dead before you let the first dragon out of its cage."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Actually, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No you don't!"

"Look, we both know that ever since she was a little kid, she's been… different. She doesn't listen, she has the attention span of a sparrow—I take her fishing and she go out hunting for trolls!"

"Trolls exist. They steal your socks. But only the left ones. What's with that?" Gobber argued.

"When I was a boy…" Stoick started

"Here we go again," Gobber muttered.

"My father told me to bang my head against a rock and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And do you know what happened?"

"You got a headache," Gobber responded, bored.

"That rock split in two. It taught me what Vikings could do. They could tame sea, destroy mountains, level forests. Even as a boy, I knew what I was, who I had to become. Hicca… she's not that girl."

"You can't stop her, Stoick. You can only prepare her," Gobber said. "Even you can't be around forever to protect her. She's going to get out again. She's probably out there now."

Stoick sighed, worried about his daughter. She was such a free spirit… it scared him how care free she was. She didn't worry about anything else, but she wanted to be like them. But she just… Wasn't. she had to realize that you had to be born a Viking, not become one. Then again, his wife Valhallarama wasn't a Viking at first, but she became one. Maybe that could be the same with Hicca….

**Short chapter compared with the last one, I know, but I'm lucky I squeezed this scene in as I am reading the House of Hades for the sixth time in two days. (Never, EVER doubt my reading ability. I was reading books more advanced than my friend's college-age brother in fourth grade. Yeah.) Anyways, I probably won't be updating my stories in a while so I'm really sorry, but my fandom is calling! You guys should understand. Toodles, poodles!**


	3. Chapter 3

I crossed out yet another spot on my map in my journal.

I had spent the entire morning searching for the damned dragon, but to no avail. Seriously, how in Thor's name do you hide a freaking DRAGON.

My stomach grumbled loudly as I trudged through the ever-growing-denser forest. "Shh, you!" I scolded my stomach. "You can have food after I kill that dragon."

I looked down at my book again, knowing I was in the final spot. I squeezed my eyes shut, tilted my head up, and…

No Night Fury was in sight.

"What did I do to get the gods to hate me!" I groaned, scribbling out the page I was on in anger.

I slammed my journal closed, pencil already tucked inside. I didn't feel like going back to the stupid village right then, with all the accusing glares and turned backs and taunting waiting to happen…. So I pushed deeper into the forest, not knowing exactly where I was going.

I basically shoved and hit everything in my way as I marched. It wasn't until I hit a branch that it literally knocked my back into my senses.

"Ow!" I cried out, after the branch snapped back and slapped me. I observed the rest of the tree, which was broken in half, obviously by a large creature.

My hopes soaring to the heavens, I carefully slid down the huge trench the creature that had broken the tree made as it fell into the forest. I came to an edge, not a very long jump for anyone, but as soon as I saw over it, I leaped back in fear.

Just over that little ledge, was the dreaded Night Fury.

I forced down my panic as I thought logically. Even the mighty beast couldn't get through the bolas wrapped around it. I pulled out my small knife I was given to protect myself with (no one trusted me with anything else), and once more peeked over the ledge.

Once I saw that the dragon was completely still, I laughed in relief. This—this changed everything!

"Oh, this solves everything!" I grinned, making my way to the beast. "No more teasing for you, Hicca! From now on, I'll be known as Hicca the Legendary, the slayer of this mighty beast!" I put my foot on the wrapped-up dragon.

The dragon made a loud noise, apparently still alive and protesting against me putting my foot on it. I leaped back in fear, eyes wide with fear. As I realized it still couldn't get out, I smiled.

I approached the dragon again, lifting my dagger. I looked at the lean body of the dragon, ebony scales shining in the sunlight. I moved my eyes to the head of the creature.

Emerald green eyes with black pupils gazed back at me. I tried to take my eyes away, but those strange green eyes held mine.

After a moment, I focused back on the body. The heart would be the quickest way to end the dragon. I raised my dagger. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to take you back to the village and I'll finally belong," I told it.

I glanced back at the Night Fury. "I am a Viking," I whispered. "I am a Viking!" I said more loudly, more to myself than the dragon.

I look back at its body, raising my knife for the kill, closing my eyes as I did so. The dragon made a noise like it was sighing, laying its head back on the forest floor. It had accepted it fate.

As I was bringing the knife down, I made the mistake of opening one of my eyes, stealing one last look at the beast.

My resolve dissolved, my arms bringing back my knife, which was inches from the Night Fury's scaly hide. I backed away from the dragon, for the first seeing the dried blood and faint scars on the beautiful beast.

"I—I did this," I back away, shocked. I had caused the dragon so much pain, so much despair. In a quick second, I decided to leave.

My back was turned as a little voice whispered in my head, _Even if you don't kill it now, it will still die from something else. Another Viking, perhaps, or another creature, or more natural causes._

I dropped my head, realizing that the voice was right. I either had to kill it now to save it pain, or let it go, which, if anyone found out, would surely brand me as a traitor.

My head perked back up as I glanced around the forest. No Vikings yet. But my father would send out a search party for me soon, if I wasn't home by sunset. Maybe, he would.

I gripped my knife harder, forcing myself to turn and kneel next to the dragon. I could feel the heat off the dragon, it's inner fire warming the air around it. I used my dagger to cut one, two, three of the ropes. As soon as I sawed through the last one, I was thrown backwards, against a rock.

As soon as my head cleared from being slammed against the rock, I realized my neck was between two black talons, the green eyes of the Night Fury in my face. Every thought cleared from my head as one thought ruled all: I was going to die, right there, right then.

_Make it quick, _I prayed, looking at the sharp teeth of the dragon.

I could feel the temperature rise as the dragon prepared to char me. It reached a point where I regretted wearing my vest, but I didn't feel any flames.

Instead of killing me, the dragon released a deafening roar in my face, one that must've sent every prey within a mile of the clearing we were in running for their lives.

It leaped away from me, it's wings spreading wide as it prepared to take flight. However something was wrong, because the once-graceful dragon kept crashing and falling until it was out of my sight. I closed my eyes, catching my breath that I didn't realize I had been holding.

I pushed myself off the ground, fully intending to walk back to the village. Instead, due to my hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and the fact that I almost died, my legs wobbled and I fell onto the ground, not three feet from the rock where I had been pinned. My eyes closed and I slept.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

A couple of hours later, when the sun was setting, I stumbled back to the outskirts of the village. Even that short distance tired me out and I fell back down against my will.

AUSTIN'S POV

I was heading home when I saw her.

Hicca was emerging out of the forest after having disappeared for the entire day. Everyone knew she was in the forest, where she spent most of her time when not in the forge. She was recklessly brave doing that, because of the dangerous animals hiding in the forest.

I shook my head, wondering why I even cared. She was the curse on the village. I was supposed to ignore her.

I was about to turn away when she collapsed on the ground. Slightly worried about her, I ran over.

She looked well enough. But when I thought about, I hadn't seen her at the Great Hall or anywhere else all day. The idiot probably hadn't eaten anything all day.

Sighing, I pulled her up. She was unconscious—not good. She had to get home. I wrapped her arm around my shoulder, taking her through the village to the chief's house. Luckily, most people were asleep or falling asleep, so no one noticed that I was carrying Hicca.

I tripped over a rock, too busy trying to drag her to notice it. Her long, tight auburn braids smacked me in the face. I recovered quickly, before we both fell on the ground.

I groaned as I came to the large stone steps leading up to her house.

_How in hell did Hicca get up these everyday? _I thought bitterly, tired from the day's activities. I didn't have the energy to take her up the stairs, but I did.

When I finally got to the last step, I debated whether or not to take her in. I decided against it, leaving her in front of the door. Surely Stoick would check for her by opening the door.

When I stepped down one step, I heard Hicca speak.

"Thanks, Austin," she managed. "You didn't have to carry me here."

"I kind of did have to. I couldn't just leave you on the ground in the middle of the village," I responded, looking back. She smiled, her hand resting on the door handle.

"Still, I don't think anyone else would've done that. Good night, Austin," she blushed, opening the door and walking in.

With a shock, I realized she was right. People would do that for me, but no one but the blacksmith and her father would do that for her. I didn't have to, because one of them would be sent to look for her.

I turned back around, running down the steps and back to my house. I hoped no one saw that.

HICCA'S POV

"Still, I don't think anyone else would've done that for me," I said, feeling the blush creeping up my face. "Good night, Austin."

I quickly opened the door, escaping inside. I sighed in relief as I was separated from Austin. I opened my eyes to see my dad standing over the hearth, surprisingly late for him. Maybe he was worried about me, for once.

I tried to sneak past him, up to my room. I had made it halfway when he spoke.

"I need to speak with you."

I sighed, ready for the "you need to be home at a respectable time" lecture that he always gave me when I came home after sunset.

"I do too," I said, wanting to tell him that I didn't want to fight dragons.

"You're going to fight dragons."

"I don't want to fight dragons."

We had spoke at the same time, making both our words incomprehensible.

"You get your wish. Dragon training, tomorrow," he said after an awkward silence.

"Er, maybe I shouldn't go? I mean, I'll probably destroy the arena," I bite my lip. After everything that happened today, how would I be able to kill a dragon?

"You'll need this," he picked an axe off the wall, handing it to me. I took it, struggling to hold it up.

"Dad, I don't want to fight dragons," I tried to say, but my dad was already busy in his own world.

"When you carry this axe, you carry all of us. From the largest Viking to the smallest, they depend on their chief. Someday, hopefully, you'll be that chief. But to get on your way, you're going to have to stop all… this," he said, using his hands to signal me.

"But you just gestured to all of me," I raised an eyebrow, seeing the similarities between Gobber and my father.

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided," I complained.

"Deal?" he said again, his voice dropping to a lower tone.

I sighed, knowing I had no choice. "Deal."

"Good. I'll be back," he said, picking up his huge hammer and a bag, heading towards the door. "Probably."

"And I'll be here," I called weakly after him. I let the bottom of the axe drop to the floor as soon as the door closed. "Maybe."

**Hey guys! What's up? I've got a few suggestions (from the comments) that I would like to reply to:**

**Mystical [GUEST]: Those are great ideas! I may have to use one of them, maybe. But to me, they sound like another fanfic I read, so I'm just going to keep on my first ideas. But thanks for the suggestions!**

**Megadracosauras: Did you enjoy the Austin P.O.V.? I know, it didn't really say what he thought about her, but there will be more Austin POVs to come. **

**That's it! If you have a suggestion, leave it in the reviews, and I promise I will see it and maybe include it. Thanks so much for reading!**


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